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Atlanta Defense

Falcons turn on their pass rush

Typically when you’re writing up the preview for the Atlanta defense, you’re expecting under 3 minutes of work. The Falcons rank last in sacks, and let’s move on. But wait just a minute.

I remember being surprised how much pressure this defense generated against Justin Herbert. They sacked him 5 times. Then they came out the next week and sacked Sam Darnold 4 times. They got their old buddy, Desmond Ridder, 3 times on Monday night.

What the heck is going on here?

Changes were made, apparently, during the Week 12 bye. The Falcons had a league-low 10 sacks at that point. But they’ve got 13 in their last three games, which is one short of the most in the league.

Raheem Morris, it seems (along with his defensive coordinator, Jimmy Lake, have decided to get more aggressive, cutting their guys loose. Better to go down swinging.

SACKS BY DEFENSES
First 11 GamesLast 3 Games
39 Denver14 Dallas
38 Minnesota13 Atlanta
36 NY Giants13 Green Bay
35 Baltimore12 Las Vegas
35 LA Chargers12 New Orleans
34 Houston11 Houston
34 NY Jets11 Kansas City
33 Philadelphia10 Denver
32 Cleveland10 Pittsburgh
32 Tampa Bay9 Baltimore
29 Arizona9 Carolina
29 Washington8 Indianapolis
28 Chicago7 Arizona
28 Dallas7 Miami
28 LA Rams7 San Francisco
28 Seattle6 Cincinnati
28 San Francisco6 Detroit
27 Buffalo6 Philadelphia
27 Green Bay6 Tampa Bay
25 Detroit6 Washington
25 Indianapolis5 Buffalo
25 New Orleans5 Chicago
25 New England5 Jacksonville
25 Pittsburgh5 LA Chargers
24 Tennessee5 NY Giants
21 Jacksonville5 NY Jets
21 Kansas City4 Minnesota
21 Miami4 Seattle
20 Las Vegas4 Tennessee
19 Cincinnati3 LA Rams
17 Carolina2 New England
10 Atlanta1 Cleveland

This week, as luck would have it, the Falcons are home against the Giants. That offense has allowed 45 sacks. Only six teams have allowed more. New York has a patchwork offensive line, with its one standout, left tackle Andrew Thomas, sidelined for the season.

The previous season, the Giants allowed 85 sacks – 20 more than any other team.

The Giants are going back to Drew Lock on Sunday. He’s taken 8 sacks in his two starts, with 2 interceptions.

I’m not putting Atlanta up there with the elite defenses, but it’s not the doormat I was expecting. I’m thinking the Falcons will finish above-average in sacks.

Kaden Ellis and Arnold Ebiketie (pictured) are the leaders of that pass rush. Each had only 1 sack in the first 11 weeks of the season, but each has 3 sacks in the last three weeks. I expect they’ll be the primary guys coming hard after Lock on Sunday.

—Ian Allan

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